1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to camper-truck assemblies, and more particularly to hardware for installation, removal, and anchoring of camper tops to the bed of pickup trucks.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, pickup campers have become quite popular and appear on the market in a variety of different shapes, models and designs. The conventional proceedure for installing the camper top is to lift or raise the camper top with jacks or other conventional lifting means above the side walls of the truck bed and position the stake holes of the truck bed with posts depending from the camper top, then lowering the camper top onto the bed. The camper top is commonly secured to the truck bed by simply bolting thereto in some manner, or bolting the depending posts into the stake holes. The steps are reversed in the removal of the camper top.
Due to variations in bed size, shape, and spacing of the stake holes, each camper top is often custom fitted to a particular truck body and secured thereto in a number of different ways. Adapters may be used in some cases in order to adapt the stake hole spacing to a particular camper top and to properly position the camper top on the truck body.
Anchoring of the camper top on the truck body is of utmost importance since during travel of the pickup truck with the camper top mounted thereon, the same is subjected to vibrations, shock, etc. as the truck travels along the highway. As is well known, a pickup truck having a camper top installed thereon will often deviate from the main highway and travel over rough terrain.
It is very difficult, if not impossible, with conventional installation proceedures to prevent the camper top from developing rattles, squeeks, and leakage problems around the points of attachment.
There are several patents which disclose truck bed attachments for securing camper tops and installing auxilliary devices on the truck body.
Temp, U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,027, discloses a drawer unit installed between the bed of a pickup truck and a false load-carrying floor installed thereabove. The drawer includes a complete kitchen and commissary unit, and is provided with rollers on the sides which rise on rails extending upwardly from the bottom of the bed.
Panchiocco, U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,045, discloses an auxilliary support positioned along each side of the side walls of a pickup truck bed for carrying a track which can be secured on top or moved to a dumping position. The device comprises a tool box or a carriage having rollers on the sides which ride on channels secured to the inner sides of the truck bed. The device is used for transporting tools and materials to a job site and for dumping the scrap materials.
Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,529, discloses a guide rail construction for slidably securing a tool cabinet along one side of of a pickup truck. The device comprises a tool cabinet having rollers on the bottom side which ride in channels secured to a rack supported on the bottom and inner sides of the truck bed. The device is used for transporting tools and the cabinet may be pulled completely out of the truck bed.
Stoll, U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,610 discloses a camper anchoring and locking structure. The structure comprises first rail members which are secured to the underside or bottom of the camper body and coupled with mating second rail members secured to a post which extends into openings in the sides of the truck body. The second rail members are adjusted longitudinally along the length of the first rail members to obtain the appropriate spacing between posts to properly fit the openings in various truck bodies.
Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,427, discloses a set of first rails having leg extensions to be received in the stake hoes on opposite sides of a pickup truck bed and a set of second rails attached thereto and having a series of offset stake holes which provide extensions for supporting objects above the side walls of the bed.
The prior art in general, and these patents in particular, do not disclose the present invention of a camper-truck assembly and the special mounting hardware therefor.